Following a shocking loss to Morocco in the World Cup 2022 semifinals in Qatar, LUIS ENRIQUE resigns as manager of Spain.
After a dismal World Cup campaign in Qatar, Luis Enrique departed Spain's coaching position, and they are currently looking for a replacement.
After failing to dismantle their opponents for 120 minutes, Enrique's team lost to Morocco in the round of 16 on penalties in a shocking upset. After a four-month hiatus for "personal difficulties".
Enrique took over the national team in 2018 and again in 2019.
Tuesday's semifinal match between Spain and Morocco ended in a scoreless stalemate after regulation time, and Spain was eliminated on penalties by the resilient Moroccan team.
Enrique said his team had practiced 1,000 penalties before of the competition, but they failed to convert any of them, missing out on a spot in Qatar's quarterfinals.
Spain fell against Japan as well, placing second in Group E. They were momentarily in danger of leaving the tournament earlier when Costa Rica unexpectedly seized the lead in their last group game before Germany came back.
The RFEF, the Spanish football association, announced that a "new project" would start soon.
The RFEF issued a statement expressing gratitude to Luis Enrique and his entire coaching staff for leading the national squad in recent years.
With a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with Germany to follow, the Spanish made the biggest statement in the first round of games and put themselves in position to win the group.
However, the unexpected 2-1 loss to Japan forced them into a knockout match with Morocco, who had only given up one goal in their first three games—a freak own goal.
Achraf Hakimi's brave penalty kick through the centre gave Morocco the victory and eliminated Spain after Morocco outplayed their more talented rivals to force a shootout.
After the World Cup in Russia, Enrique took over as Spain's manager in July 2018. He left in June of the following year due to "personal issues," but returned in November 2019. At Euro 2020, he led them to the semifinals, where they also fell to eventual champions Italy on penalties.